We'll Hook Up Later, Definitely
by CoffeeDrinker
Summary: Lorelai and Luke agreed to "hook up later" in 5.02. This is my vision of what happened that night. Oneshot.


**"We'll Hook Up Later, Definitely"**

. . . . .

After their encounter on the sidewalk, which was painfully interrupted by a marching band he'd never forgive, Luke returned to the diner. A few minutes later, he saw Lorelai outside approaching the diner and his heart started racing a little. He lingered by the door so he could greet her when she walked in.

As she came through the door, the first thing he noticed was that she was already wearing the necklace. He'd given it to her only five minutes earlier, and she already had it on... to say that made him feel good was an understatement.

They exchanged small smiles as Lorelai softly said, "Hey."

"Hey."

Lorelai tried to shake off the nervousness she was feeling around her friend who was now... more than that. A friend she had kissed, and enjoyed kissing, and wanted to kiss again. God, how badly she wanted to kiss him again.

Lorelai glanced at the table where she and Rory had been sitting earlier, which was now empty, and then looked confusedly at Luke. "Did she leave?"

Luke looked over at the table. He hadn't even noticed that Rory wasn't there anymore, he'd been too distracted thinking about Lorelai. He turned around and called, "Hey, Lane."

Lane was behind the counter pouring a cup of coffee, and glanced over at him. "Yeah?"

"You know where Rory went?" he asked.

"Did she head home?" Lorelai added.

"She said that she had to go take care of something, and that she'd meet you at home afterwards," Lane replied.

Lorelai narrowed her eyes. "Oh, okay... thanks." She glanced at Luke. "I guess I'll go home and wait for her."

"Okay." Luke hesitated a moment, debating the next words out of his mouth. He wanted to ask about seeing her later, to make sure it was an actual plan, but didn't want to seem too eager. He shifted his feet and casually shoved his hands into his pockets. "So... then... later? Do you... will you... I mean, like we said, later we can maybe..."

Lorelai smiled at his stammering, and she nodded her head. "Later, yeah. I'll come by later tonight... like ten-ish? I wanna hang out with Rory a little first, but if that's too late..."

Luke shook his head. "No, that's okay, ten's fine."

"Okay, good, so..." Lorelai gestured toward the door beside her. "I'm gonna go. I'll see you later."

"Bye."

. . . . .

. . . . .

That night, Lorelai walked down the street toward the closed diner, and started wondering if the door would be left unlocked for her, or if she was supposed to knock or something. Or was she supposed to go around back? She should've clarified with him. Maybe she should've called first.

But as she got closer to the front of the diner, she saw some movement inside. He was waiting for her, and opened the door as she approached.

Lorelai stopped at the bottom of the steps and smiled up at him. "Hey."

"Hi." Luke pulled the door open wider. "Come on in."

With a deep breath, Lorelai walked into the diner. Luke closed and locked the door behind her, then gestured toward the doorway that led upstairs to his apartment. "So, uh, I figured we could just hang out upstairs... have some beers, talk a little."

Lorelai nodded. "Sounds good. Lead the way."

"Unless you want coffee," he added, gesturing to the coffeemaker. "I could make a fresh pot."

"No, it's okay... beer's fine," she said.

They went up to the apartment. He pushed open the door and gestured her inside first. She walked in and he followed her, shutting the door behind them. He retrieved two beers from the fridge, opened them, and handed one to her.

Lorelai started wandering around the apartment, sipping her beer as she looked at the décor that filled the shelves and the walls. She'd been in his apartment a few times over the years, but she had never really taken it all in.

He stood near the kitchen table and watched her circle the room, and when she returned to him, she said, "I see you try to impress the ladies with your extensive collection of trophies."

Luke smirked. "Yeah, is it working?"

"Oh, it's working," Lorelai confirmed with a nod. "I can't tell you how hard it is to find a guy with a really good assortment of trophies taking over his living space. I'd just about given up, and then you come along and restore my faith in humanity."

Luke snorted a laugh. "There aren't that many."

Lorelai glanced behind her and then returned her gaze to him. "I see you finally upgraded to the larger bed."

Luke shrugged nonchalantly. "Figured it was time for a little more sleeping room."

Lorelai nibbled on her bottom lip as she nodded in agreement. "More sleeping room can be a very useful thing." She gestured toward the couch, asking, "Mind if I sit?"

"Nope, go ahead," he replied.

Lorelai walked over and sat down on the couch, took a swig of her beer, and then set the bottle on the coffee table. She rested her hands on her knees and looked up at him. "So..."

Luke nervously rocked on his heels and shoved his free hand into his pocket. "So..."

Lorelai grasped for something to say to break the awkward silence, and finally asked, "Uh, so, how was your first day back?"

"Oh, not bad," Luke replied. "Seems like the diner ran pretty smoothly without me. Didn't notice any signs of fire or anything, so that's good."

"You've trained your staff well," Lorelai said. "But I'm sure they're probably glad to have you back."

"I doubt it. Who in their right mind wants their boss back after being left unsupervised for almost two months?" Luke joked.

Lorelai smiled as she leaned back against the couch and crossed her legs. "Well, I know if you were my boss, I'd be happy to have you back."

Luke smiled before taking a sip of his beer, and then he asked, "How was your night?"

"It was good," she replied. "Rory and I ordered a ton of food and watched _Showgirls_."

Luke narrowed his eyes. " _Showgirls_? I'm guessing that's not a family film?"

Lorelai gasped. "You've never seen it? I'll introduce it to you... you're in for a treat, my friend."

Luke smirked. "Looking forward to it."

Lorelai eyed him for a moment before asking, "You gonna sit down? You're making me nervous just standing there." After a brief pause, she added, "Well, _more_ nervous than I already am."

Luke walked over and sat down on the couch, leaving a little space between them. "You're nervous?"

"Uh, yeah," she confirmed. "Can't you tell?"

"Nope." Luke set his beer on the coffee table. "Can _you_ tell that I am?"

Lorelai's eyes widened slightly. "You're nervous, too?"

"Yup."

A relieved smile formed on Lorelai's lips. "Well, I think if _you're_ feeling nervous and _I'm_ feeling nervous, shouldn't they cancel each other out and result in both of us feeling _not_ nervous?"

Luke paused for a moment, thinking it over, then declared, "Nope, still nervous."

"Yeah. Me, too." Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "I'm not sure why, though. We're not strangers, we're friends."

"Yeah, we're just two friends hanging out and catching up."

"Yeah, after not seeing each other for a while."

"A _long_ while."

"A ridiculously long while." Lorelai smiled at him, adding, "I'm really glad you're back."

Luke smiled and glanced shyly down at the floor before giving her a little nod. "Me, too."

"Speaking of which, I have an important question pertaining to your time away," Lorelai said.

"Okay, shoot."

"Did the Renaissance Fair ladies try to sink their teeth into you?" Lorelai asked. "The way grog booth Annie was juggling men this summer, there's no way she didn't try to lure you in to her web."

Luke smirked before reluctantly admitting, "A few of them may have been a little overly friendly, yes."

Lorelai felt a tinge of jealousy rush through her. "Oh, yeah?"

"Didn't bat an eye at 'em," Luke continued. "Had someone else on my mind all summer."

Lorelai grinned and glanced down at the floor for a few moments before bringing her gaze back to him.

There was another one of those awkward moments where they both stared at each other, waiting for the other to do something, to say something. This hadn't been an issue between them before; their conversations always had a natural flow. There was never any hesitance about what to say, no pressure about saying the right thing, they were always just themselves around each other.

Maybe they just needed to get past the elephant in the room, Lorelai thought. That unfinished moment from earlier in the day was hanging over them, and she knew they both wanted to finish it, but neither was taking the first step toward doing so.

Lorelai swallowed hard and moved closer to him on the couch. Her heart was racing as she turned her body to face him, and taking her lead, he did the same. He rested his hand on her leg and gently stroked her knee with his thumb.

She glanced down at his hand, and then back at his face. She focused on his lips. She'd thought about those lips for seven weeks. Thought about them while she was at work, while she was driving, while she was trying to fall asleep, while she talked to him on the phone. She thought about the first time those lips touched hers and how amazing it felt. And now they were a foot away from her.

She gripped his jaw with her hand and guided his face to hers, and tingles rushed through her entire body as their lips met. The kiss was soft and tender, but the spark it ignited inside was powerful. An indescribable feeling came over her, a feeling she hadn't felt before with anyone else, and she wondered if it was _that_ feeling. That feeling people talk about when they find the person they're meant to be with.

Lorelai pulled back from him, smiling, and said, "I've been waiting seven weeks to do that again."

"You and me both," he said before leaning toward her.

Her hands cradled his face as they kissed again, longer this time, and as they were separating, she hummed contently. Her hands were still resting on his cheeks, and she traced along his bottom lip with her thumb. "Luke?" she whispered.

Luke's hand was on her knee, and he squeezed it. "Yeah?"

"You feel nervous?"

Luke smiled and shook his head. "Nope."

Lorelai returned the smile. "Me, either."

Her hands slid down to his chest as she leaned in to kiss him again. She immediately parted his lips with her tongue and began to explore his mouth. Their tongues tangled gently until the lack of oxygen finally forced them apart.

They separated, panting for breath as they shared a smile. Luke ran his fingers through her hair and down her neck, and then traced the necklace chain down to the charm resting against her chest. "Looks good on you."

Lorelai glanced down at it, and then back at him. "Thank you. I love it," she said sincerely. "I should've gotten _you_ something... a welcome home present. But in my defense, you kept lying to me about when you'd actually be home anyway, so I couldn't really plan accordingly for your arrival."

He smiled and gestured between the two of them. "I think this right here is the welcome home present."

Lorelai smiled and pulled him into another kiss. His hand slipped behind her, resting firmly against the small of her back and pulling her toward him. Her arms snaked around his neck as their bodies pressed up against each other. Everything felt perfect. It felt natural. It felt right.

Lorelai knew this was something special, that they were embarking on something intense and passionate and wonderful. Relationships were never her strong point, but she was starting to think that maybe it wasn't her fault... maybe it was because she'd never been in the right one. Maybe this would finally be it.

As the kiss ended, Lorelai pulled back from him and reached for his hand. She brought it to her lap and stared down at it intently as she traced circles on his palm with her finger. As his other hand began rubbing her leg, Luke watched her curiously, noticing she seemed to be lost in thought.

After a few moments, he softly said, "Lorelai?"

Lorelai lifted her head and looked into his eyes. "I didn't know what tonight would be like... if we'd be hanging out and talking, or... you know... doing _more_ than talking," she said. "And we're clearly doing more than talking."

"Yeah, we are," Luke agreed, and then cocked his head to the side and asked, "That's okay, right? We don't have to."

Lorelai smiled. "Well, considering I'm the one who started the _more than talking_ , I'd say yeah, it's okay by me." She paused a moment, then hesitantly added, "But I don't think we should go to the, uh... _much more than talking_ level tonight... okay?"

Luke quickly nodded. "Yeah, of course, no, that's fine. This level's good. I love this level."

Lorelai smiled and brushed her fingers across his cheek. "We'll save future levels of advancement for when we start going on actual dates."

He nodded in agreement. "Okay."

Lorelai moved her hand down to his shirt and started fidgeting with one of his buttons. "The next few days will be busy... I'll be helping Rory get ready to go back to school. But after she heads back..." Her voice trailed off.

Luke nodded understandingly. "Okay. And let me know if you need help packing or loading the car or anything. I'm good at heavy lifting."

Lorelai smiled appreciatively. "I will, thanks." She exhaled a soft sigh. "So, uh... I just wanted to put that out there before things got a little too... you know."

"Got it." He squeezed her hand and added, "And just so you know, I didn't have any plan or expectation about tonight. I just... I wanted to see you."

Lorelai smiled. "I wanted to see you, too." Both of her hands moved to cradle his neck, and she stroked the back of it with her fingers. "And I kind of want to welcome you home a little more."

Luke smiled. "That would be very hospitable of you."

. . . . .

. . . . .

A little while later, they headed downstairs to the darkened empty diner. They walked to the door and they turned to face each other.

"You and Rory gonna come by sometime tomorrow?" Luke asked.

"Yeah," Lorelai replied with a nod. "We'll probably be out running errands, so I'm sure we'll need some fuel."

"Okay, good. So, then... I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay."

Luke's hands went to her waist, and it felt so natural, like it was something he'd been doing for years. He leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. "Night."

Lorelai's hands went to the back of his head and pulled him closer for another kiss, and then she smiled up at him. "Night, Luke."

Luke pulled open the door and Lorelai walked out. He watched her as she headed down the street, and she glanced back over her shoulder, giving him a smile and a wave. She continued heading toward her house, smiling to herself as she thought about just how amazing his lips felt against hers.

. . . . .

. . . . .

 **The End**


End file.
